Helen Thoday highlighted the physiological changes in sows at weaning and covered the principles of standing heat, conception, fertilisation and establishment of pregnancy.

During the workshops each stockperson drew and presented their service areas to the group indicating areas such as pig flow, boar contact and equipment storage. After the necessity of rest post AI, light levels and space requirements for weaned sows was discussed the groups added these factors to the drawings and compared them.

Light seemed to be a split factor, many units have recently invested in lights but many still have poor light levels for weaned sows. The units that had improved lights commented on better performance and just as importantly the better working conditions for the stockpeople!

Many units had ample space requirements for sows and this seemed to be a good feature of most units.

Resting areas were present on some units but some did not have rest areas with boar contact to help continue uterine contractions after service. Discussions occurred over the drawings to try and see how conversions could occur.

Outdoor units are able to continually reassess and improve the service areas as they have the option to redesign systems at field moves and many outdoor units with stone service areas had excellently designed systems.

It was also important to talk about how it was for the stockpeople to work in the weaning and service areas. Such an important job as serving can only be done to its highest standard when the facilities are easy to work in: stuck gates, dingy and dusty service areas and lack of shelving for equipment were some of the comments from stockpeople, but mostly everyone was very happy working in their current service systems but gained a lot from understanding the physiology of the wean to pregnancy stages. Such facts that the groups found interesting were that udders cease milk production as quickly as 12 hours after weaning, the amazing physical changes that occur to the fertilised ova going from round blatocysts to long stringy bodies and that 2.3 billion sperm are sent out in an Ai dose when only 20 eggs are released during ovulation.

Many areas can be improved on in a serving area to continually progress the reproductive performance of the unit. Using a workshop to get a better understanding of the physiology behind the process and seeing how other units carry out service helps in reviewing your own system.